Who Killed Neji Hyuga?
by ONYXindustries
Summary: Neji Hyuga has been murdered. The police call it suicide but Shikamaru is sure some hidden motive has been at work. There are lots of suspects but will he catch the murderer or will his unusual affection towards io allow the killer to escape?


**Prologue**

The wind whistled through the trees. The maid of the household looked through a window and hurried out the back door to pick up the laundry. Her skirt trapped itself against her frame as she struggled to collect all the clothes. She placed the basket next to the washer in the laundry room and, taking a shortcut through the kitchen, she made her way towards the main hall.

The chef held her back for a moment, asking her about some groceries and pointing out that she needed to add spoons to the table as they were having soup today. As she adjusted the dinner setup, she heard a crash.

"Oh dear…" she place the last spoon and headed back into the kitchen. "Did you drop something?"

"No…"

"…" Confused, she walked back to the dining room and adjusted the tablecloth. And off she went again, towards the main hall.

The remnants of a Ming vase caught her eye. This is what she'd heard! She knelt and picked up some of the larger pieces. The next thing she noticed was a red stain in the carpet, quickly spreading.

"What in the…" Her eyes happened upon the face of her now dead master.

She froze, and then suddenly scrambled backwards, her heart pounding wildly. "KYAAA!"

Alert ears upstairs caused shifty eyes to focus on the door. Had someone seen her? No… Then what…?

She listened closely over the phone…

"Hello? Police?"

Wait…Why would they call the police? No one saw her.

"Yes, it's about my employer….He's dead."

"Oh f…" she put down the phone suddenly and jumped through the window. She slid down the awaiting rope and dashed off into the tall grass. She paused behind a large bush to catch her breath.

The sirens grew louder and louder, as she crawled on her hands and knees through the grass.

"Hey. Something's moving over there!"

A flashlight shone in her direction, and she rushed towards the edge of the estate. Before she knew it, she was being dragged back to the house.

"What a day…"

* * *

><p>Evening… I thought that to myself as I prepared to enter the vast compound.<p>

Two of my former collegues met me at the gate.

"Hey. Big detective now, aren't we?" This was Naruto Uzumaki, a scatterbrain and an incurable pervert. Still, he must be doing something right because they haven't fired him yet.

"If you can prove us wrong on this one I'll give you $500." This loud mouth is Kiba Inuzuka, an annoying dog fanatic. Truth be told, they make the worst team possible…

On the way towards the house, they explained to me their theory.

_The victim, Neji Hyuga, was the heir to a large sum of money. They haven't quite worked out the details yet, but it definitely reeks of suicide. _

And, geniuses that they are, they knew that I was going to challenge that opinion, so they lined up some suspects for me. Once in the hall they introduced me to them.

_First was the victim's cousin, Hinata Hyuga. She stood to benefit most from his death, as that would leave her the only heir, however, she is adamant she was nowhere near him, but was in the dining room instead. I found that a little hard to swallow._

_Next, Inita Hashi, a beautiful girl of only 19, supposedly the victim's fiancée. The rumour is, the marriage was arranged and so she was trying to escape it. Her defense was that she had been asleep in her room._

_The maid, Savila Yamato, caught my eye. She was the one that had called the police. No real motive seemed to loom over her; perhaps a hidden one? However, her alibi was pretty solid. She heard the crash while in the dining room, at least 30 feet from the body, which fell from upstairs._

_Yuki Aikato, the victim's best friend. Every now and again, his eyes would wonder over to Miss Hashi. Immediate motive: Jealousy. But his alibi could have been better. The bathroom? Really?_

_The chef, Jacarra Uniqua; no motive jumped out. According to the maid and Hinata, she was always in the kitchen. However, I noticed an unusual mark on her arm. Hmmm…_

_The gate keeper, Jenei Katsune. He had no motive, and a weak alibi…I skipped him for a moment. Questioning would reveal more, I thought._

_The one who had been caught on the grounds with her pockets full of cash, the gangster Sasia "The Titan", was glaring at me. She had no obvious motive, but maybe he had caught her stealing. She claimed she had been in town up to 10 minutes before the maid called in the death._

_Finally, my eyes met those of the fiancee's best friend, Tomoyo Shio. She had a strong gaze…It took all my strength to ignore it and analyze her statements. Her only motive may have been to save her friend. She admits she was chatting with the victim when he suddenly said he was ill and fainted. She had gone to get medicine when the chef delayed her. The next thing she knew the police were outside._

I couldn't deny this case would be difficult…Especially if I kept sneaking peeks at Miss Shio.

But this case will be solved, or my name isn't Shikamaru Nara!


End file.
